


papyrus helps

by DescendingSnow



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Storyshift (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Bad Puns, Bad Spelling & Grammar, Crack, Deus Ex Machine, Female Reader, Female Reader-Insert, Gen, I wrote too many her pronouns here, Mary Sue, Not Beta Read, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader-Insert, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, i can't, i'll add tags as i go, inaccurate science, maybe idk, there are they/them pronouns I'll probably go back and fix it??, this is a mess, vent fic, well it can be a reader-insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-06-21 12:07:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15557382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DescendingSnow/pseuds/DescendingSnow
Summary: papyrus was always there for you. and sometimes you were there for himBunch of oneshots about interactions between reader and papyrus but extends to other alternate universes as well or the reader playing god. May or may not be interconnected.





	1. First Meeting (and it's a nice meeting)

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Thoughts of suicide
> 
> This will be updated randomly.

I didn’t want to die. Not by a long shot, I just wanted to not exist for a while. Just stop, freeze time and let me take in what life currently had to offer but of course, that can’t happen.

 

“HELLO, HUMAN!” I jumped, looking upwards to see a skeleton. A monster? He grinned at me. “IT IS A NICE DAY TODAY, IS IT NOT?”

 

A loud voice but not too loud to be grating. I answered, “Yea, no rains, just the right amount of clouds, too.”

 

“DO YOU MIND IF I SIT HERE, HUMAN?”

 

“N, no. I was just leaving actually-” I put my phone back in my shoulder bag and stood up.

 

“WAIT, IF I AM TO BE HONEST, I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU.”

 

“What?” I turned to him, his face distraught. 

 

“I CAN SEE THAT YOU ARE SAD HUMAN. IS THERE ANY WAY THAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER?”

 

“B-but,” I stammered. Why was he talking to me of all people? “It’s alright. I’m not-”

 

“IT IS OKAY, HUMAN. I KNOW THAT IT IS SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO TALK. I KNOW! YOU CAN SIT HERE AND I’LL ACCOMPANY YOU!”

 

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” I whispered. It was rude but more so if he was wasting his time on me. “I’m fine, really. It’ll pass.”

 

“THEN, WE CAN TALK ABOUT OURSELVES.” Papyrus? Was that his name? Grinned at me. “HUMAN?”

 

I conceded, sitting back down at the bench. “Yea, yea…”

 

There wasn’t anyone outside at this park. Only a few people here and there, some monsters but they were far from where we were.

 

“WHAT IS YOUR NAME, HUMAN?”

 

“[Y/N]…” I told him. “[Y/N] [L/N]”

 

“I SEE, THEN HUMAN WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?”

 

“Do?” I repeated, thinking over his words. “I like to read...play some games, I guess…”

“ARE YOU LOST, HUMAN? DON’T WORRY, I THE GREAT PAPYRUS, IS ALSO LOST, TOO!”

 

He was perceptive, and attentive. I shrunk back a little. “I don’t know. I guess. I feel ecstasy if that’s what…”

 

“ECSTASY? INTENSE JOY?”

 

“Yea, I call it that. Whenever I find something I enjoy, it’s usually beyond happiness I guess. Not as permanent but still there.”

 

“IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT? HAVING SOMETHING YOU ENJOY IS FUN! EVEN MY BROTHER WITH HIS ANNOYING PUNS!”

 

I laughed softly. “Guess so, it’s just that, it doesn’t stay for long. After that, I feel...empty and I hurry along to find another thing to find.

 

“Well, it’s not that it matters. It’s just me, and you know, crises in life. That’s why I didn’t want you to stay for just this. I’m a mess, wastes my life and all that.”

 

I looked down at the ground. Yea, seems like a bad day is all.

 

“NO LIFE IS WASTED, HUMAN!” He was crouching in front of me, holding my head as I stared at his eye...sockets. He was so cheerful and it felt genuine. “I BELIEVE IN YOU, HUMAN, NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE TELLS YOU. IT’S OKAY TO FEEL SAD BUT DON’T FORGET TO BE HAPPY, TOO!”

 

Was he always like this to everyone he meets? I sniffed, feeling the tears well up and leaned forward to wrap my arms around him.

 

“Thank you so much.” I shakily told him, tightening my grip. He wrapped his arms around mine, too.

 

“WO, WOWIE, YOU ARE VERY STRONG, HUMAN. BUT NOT TO WORRY! I AM AN EXPERT WHEN IT COMES TO HUGS!” and proceeded to hug me tighter. 

 

“Ah, that’s enough, Papyrus.” I wheezed, too strong of a force.

 

“OH NO! HAVE I HURT YOU HUMAN?” I shook my head.

 

“No.” I gave him a smile. “You’ve given me hope, that’s it.”

 

“WOWIE, I GAVE YOU HOPE!”

“You didn’t know what you were really doing, were you?” I chuckled weakly.

 

“WHENEVER THERE’S SOMEONE WHO’S SAD, THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS THERE TO CHEER THEM UP.” Doesn’t fully comprehend but he was already great.

 

“Hey, Papyrus?” I called out.

 

“YES, HUMAN?” 

 

“You can just call me [Y/N] or [Nickname], you know.” I smiled wider. “I think you’ve earned that much already.”

 

He gasped, teary-eyed. “ARE WE… FRIENDS?”

 

“Of course!”

 

“WOW, MY FRIENDSHIP LIST HAS INCREASED! AND I DIDN’T CONSULT MY FRIENDMAKING BOOK!”

 

“I don’t think you have to do that, Papyrus.” I raised my hand to pat his shoulder. “People like you. Someone who sees the hope of the world amongst despair. You are already great and you don’t have to change. Some people, like me, needs someone like you. And that goes to both humans and monsters.”

 

He raised his glove to his mouth, tears rolling down his cheeks. “THAT’S VERY TOUCHING, HU- [Y/N]. IT’S MY FIRST TIME HEARING THAT.”

 

He was needed and I had to let him know that.

 

“Now, it seems that… someone is searching for you.”

  
  


“pap! papyrus, where are you?!” A shout from across the park.

 

He looked away, gasping, “THAT IS MY BROTHER! [Y/N], DO YOU-”

 

When he turned back towards them, they were gone. He looked around, there was no sign of them. “[Y/N]?”

 

“papyrus!” Sans appeared next to him with a worried expression. “where did you go? We were worried that we couldn’t find you!”

 

“SANS, I WAS ALWAYS RIGHT HERE!” He then beamed. “AND I MADE A FRIEND, ALTHOUGH I AM NOT SURE WHERE THEY ARE…”

 

“i’m just glad you’re safe bro… we were looking for you all day.” Papyrus looked at his brother and he did seem winded.

 

“ALL DAY, BROTHER, IT’S ONLY MORNING!”

 

Sans paused, looking at him with a weird expression. “pap, it’s almost night.”

 

Papyrus looked at the sky, gasping in surprise. “THE BALL IS NOT THERE ANYMORE! DID WE REALLY TALK THAT LONG?”

 

“c’mon, bro, the others are worried. i was worried.”

 

Papyrus looked conflicted. “VERY WELL. I WILL HAVE TO SEARCH FOR [Y/N] NEXT TIME.”

 

“[Y/N]?”

 

“MY NEW FRIEND, ALTHOUGH THEY DISAPPEARED.”

 

“hah, at least you were safe, pap. just tell us whenever you have an unpunned chat with a friend”

 

“SANS, NO!”

 

“gotta keep you on your toes, pap.”

 

“UGH, I AM LEAVING.”

  
  
  



	2. Teaching paps about the surface's weather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as the title says, you mention about the weather to Papyrus before vanishing mysteriously, poof

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprisingly, I'm still continuing this. Ah well

I found myself back in his world, soaking underneath the pouring rain. The city was engulfed in a bad thunderstorm, not that I minded. Their draining canals were surprisingly efficient.

The rain stopped drenching me when I found a red umbrella over my head. “YOU WILL GET SICK, [Y/N]!”

I smiled, “Hello to you too, Papyrus.”

“YOU SHOULDN’T LET YOURSELF GET SICK LIKE THIS. HERE, TAKE THIS FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, DOESN’T GET SICK.”

I remained silent just as there was a flash of light. He jumped. “WHAT WAS THAT?”

About seven seconds later, there was the roar of thunder. “HUMAN, WE SHOULD DEFINITELY GO TO A SHELTER. THAT DOESN’T SOUND GOOD.”

“Papyrus, do you know what lightning is?”

“LIGHTNING?”

“Yep! It’s when there’s a lot of electricity in the clouds that meet with each other.”

“WOWIE, CLOUDS HAVE ELECTRICITY?”

“Uhuh! Usually, there’s lightning whenever a cloud holds a lot of water.”

“SANS TOLD ME THAT CLOUDS ARE WATER. HOW CAN THEY HOLD THEM?”

“I meant that they have lots of water. Don’t be scared, Papyrus. Here, I’ll teach you something so that you don’t have to be afraid of lightning.”

I escorted us towards a nearby bus stop. No one was there, not under this gruelling rain. “When you see the flash of light, count the seconds before the sound, called thunder, and divide it by five, that’s how many miles away the lightning was.”

“SHOULDN’T IT BE DANGEROUS OUTSIDE?”

“Not as much inside. Let’s wait for a lightning, shall we?”

We waited in silence and then a flash of light came. “OH!”

I waited a bit more until the thunder roared. 5 seconds. I looked towards Papyrus. “Now, how far was it?”

“APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE, HUMAN. WOWIE, THIS IS LIKE A PUZZLE! WHEN WILL THE NEXT LIGHTNING COME?”

“Lightning should be rare. When you see it often like this, it just means that the weather’s really bad.”

There was a buzz of a phone and he gasped, opening it. “I AM VERY SORRY, HUMAN BUT I NEED TO GO HOME. MY BROTHER IS VERY WORRIED.”

“It’s fine, Papyrus. Let’s meet again next time, yea?”

“OF COURSE, HUMAN- NYEH? WHY CAN’T I SEE ANYTHING?”

“Oh, the weather’s really bad. A fog?”

“OH NO, HOW WILL I RETURN HOME NOW!”

“I have a flashlight here, it won’t help much but it can help us see a little. I’ll accompany you home.”

“WHY THANK YOU HUMAN! WE CAN HAVE SOME SPAGHETTI WHEN WE ARRIVE THERE. I AM A SPAGHETTORE!”

“That’s perfect!” I chuckled. “I love spaghetti!”

There was another lightning and the roar of thunder immediately followed soon.

“Let’s go before the weather gets worse.”

“OF COURSE, HUMAN!”

Managing your way through a fog. We somehow managed by using a map in my own phone and we ended up talking a lot about weather.

“THE SURFACE IS VERY WEIRD.”

I laughed seeing his confused face. “It comes with living here. Don’t worry, at least now you know what to look out for!”

“YES, AND THE NEXT TIME. I, THE GREAT, PAPYRUS, WILL BE PREPARED FOR BAD WEATHER!”

“It won’t be 100% accurate but better than carrying an umbrella everyday.”

“THAT IS TRUE.”

We arrived to his home. He tried to invite me in but again, I disappeared under his attention, “THAT HUMAN IS REALLY SNEAKY.”

He slammed the door open. “SANS, I’M HOME!”

“heya, pap, uh, why are you bone-dry?”

“I AM NOT ‘BONE-DRY’ SANS. I WAS OUT IN A STORM.”

“you kinda are, pap.”

“I AM- OH, I AM DRY. WAS MY FRIEND DRY, TOO?”

“friend?”

“I MET [Y/N] AGAIN! THEY WERE VERY ENTHUSIASTIC WHEN IT COMES TO WEATHER. JUST LIKE YOU BROTHER.”

“i dunno, bro. i’m feeling under the weather when it comes to it.”

“SANS!”

“you said you met them again? i’m feeling bone-ly bro, introduce me.”

“SANS! UGH, WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME BROTHER.”

Sans shrugged as Papyrus continued. “ANYWAYS, I TRIED BUT THEY KEEP DISAPPEARING! I’LL TRY HARDER NEXT TIME SO THAT YOU CAN BE THEIR FRIEND, TOO!”

“ww, thanks bro, appreciate it.”

“NOW, I HAVE TO GO PREPARE DINNER AND PICK UP YOUR SOCKS, SANS!”

“nah.”

“SANS!”


	3. A soft song about christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The song has been nagging you for a while and you really, really love this small shell you picked up at the beach but maybe Papyrus can take care of it better.

“Silent night, holy night~” I sang softly to myself in the edge of the forest.

 

“All is calm, all is bright,” I closed my eyes, “Round yon Virgin Mother and Child.”

 

I took special care to hold an accent to that previous line. “Holy infant, so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace…”

 

I opened my eyes, “Sleep in heavenly peace…”

 

“[Y/N]!” I turned towards the sound. Papyrus was waving at me holding a box. “I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU. YOU WERE NOWHERE AT THE PARK!”

 

“Sorry.” I half-heartedly apologized. “There were too many people there so I moved here for the night.”

 

“IT IS ALRIGHT, [Y/N]. I CAME HERE BEARING A GIFT!” He grinned at me widely, holding out the wrapped present.

 

“This is for me?” I asked, taking the present out of his hands and looking at him quizzically.

 

“YOU ARE MY DEAREST FRIEND, [Y/N] AND I WISH FOR YOU TO KNOW THAT!”

 

“Oh…” I blushed, gripping the present near to my chest. “Thanks, I… didn’t expect you to give me a gift.”

 

“WELL? OPEN IT!” He looked at me with wide eyes and a wide grin, clenched fists as he watched me expectantly. I looked down, pulling the ribbon and removing the wrapping.

 

It was a red scarf, a soft scarf and wrapped inside the scarf was a phone. My eyes widened. “Papyrus, you didn’t have to!”

 

“IT WAS OF NO CONSEQUENCE, [Y/N]. WITH THIS, WE CAN BE TEXT BUDDIES!”

 

“I…” I paused, pursing my lips. “You won’t be able to contact me often, Papyrus. I’m not… always available.”

 

“THAT IS ALSO ALRIGHT. THAT’S WHY WE CAN JUST LEAVE MESSAGES FOR WHEN WE’RE AVAILABLE!”

 

“Oh, yea. Texts. Right. That’s why texts exists. I’m an idiot!”

 

“NYEHEHEH! THAT IS WHY, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, IS HERE TO HELP YOU, HUMAN!”

 

I curled the scarf around my neck and put the phone in my shoulder bag. “Thanks for the gift, Papyrus. I feel rather… awkward now that I didn’t find you one.”

 

“IT IS ALRIGHT, [Y/N]. WE CAN ALWAYS EXCHANGE GIFTS FOR THE NEXT GYFTMAS!”

 

“Next Gyftmas, huh…” I mutter to myself. A thought came to me as I started fumbling around my bag. “I think, it’s around here…”

 

“NYEH? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR HARLIGHT?”

 

My hands chanced upon a small shell and I swiftly took it out. “Found it!”

 

“OH, WHAT IS THAT? THAT IS SO SMALL… IS IT A ROCK?” He bent down, peering at the object.

 

“It’s a shell.” I giggled. “You can say that it’s the hardened remains of a really old ocean animal.”

 

Papyrus gasped. “REMAINS?! WHY WOULD YOU HOLD SUCH AN IMPORTANT THING?”

 

“For others, it’s for a collection. For me… I think of it as a lucky charm.” I clutched the small thing inside my fists and held it close to my chest. It was so small. It was bigger than my thumb but it had a hole in the middle. It was a part of a clam. The half of a clam.

 

There was a glow in my hands before I held it towards Papyrus. “It’s a hurriedly made gift but consider it a lucky charm.”

 

His eyes teared up as he held it close. “I, I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN A LUCKY CHARM BEFORE!”

 

Before I knew it, he was already hugging me, carrying me in the air. “THANK YOU VERY MUCH, [Y/N]! I WILL TREASURE IT!”

 

I pat down his arms to let me down, ignoring the pain from being carried. “Just ah, carry around all the time. It’s a lucky charm so, it won’t work if you don’t carry it.”

 

“OF COURSE, [Y/N]. I WILL MAKE IT A NECKLACE OR, SEW IT ON MY SCARF!”

 

I laughed, watching him so happy with that small shell. “You go, Papyrus.”

 

“ALSO, [Y/N], DO YOU WISH TO COME WITH ME FOR GYFTMAS DINNER?”

 

I smiled sadly. “I can’t, Papyrus. Sorry.” 

 

He deflated visibly. I really couldn’t. Interacting with him, with Papyrus, was already too much.

 

“I UNDERSTAND. NEXT TIME THEN?” He looked at me with upturned eyes. 

 

“We’ll see.”

 

“OK THEN, I’LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME, [Y/N]!” He dropped the subject, running away but continuing to wave at me. I did the same. 

 

When he was no longer in view, I dropped my hand and my smile. Papyrus really was too nice

 

“did you get them the gift, bro?”

 

“OF COURSE AND THEY LOVED IT! THEY ALSO GAVE ME A LUCKY CHARM!”

 

“a lucky charm? neat.”

 

“IT IS. THEY ENTRUSTED ME THE REMAINS OF SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO THEM. I WILL TURN IT INTO A NECKLACE AS SOON AS THE DINNER IS OVER!”

 

“i’m surprised you didn’t manage to invite them, paps.”

 

“THEY...DECLINED BUT THEY TOLD ME THAT I COULD INVITE THEM AGAIN NEXT TIME!”

 

“come on, the others have been waiting.”

 

“SANS, YOU, YOU’VE REFRAINED FROM YOUR PUNNING!”

 

“well, guessed I’d give you a day out of the year without me getting under your skin.”

 

“SANS! I THOUGHT YOU STOPPED!”

 

“woops, sorry, these puns have to be punned.”

 

“THIS DAY IS OFFICIALLY RUINED!”

* * *

 

The beast changed directions from Ink to Frisk.

 

“kid, run!” Sans shouted. G was too busy with his own set of beasts, couldn’t access the void fast enough to save them.

 

Papyrus rushed in front of Frisk’s body, throwing their arms wide, closing their eyes and bracing for the impact.

 

When none came, he slowly opened them and watched, stunned, as his necklace. The necklace he made with the shell was glowing and floating in front of him.

 

It formed a barrier just in front of him that had the same shade of the shell. The shell cracked, so did the barrier but the beast was already shrouded with blue strings.

 

“got it.” Error said, closing his fists as the beast shrilled before dissipating into shadows.

 

“paps, are you alright?!” Sans rushed to Papyrus’ side. “nothing hurts?”

 

“N-NO BROTHER, JUST THAT.” His eyes shifted to the broken pieces of the shell. “THE SHELL BROKE.”

 

“What was that?!” Blue excitedly called out. “Something just stopped the beast and it was so cool!”

 

“Yea…” Ink frowned. “What was that?”

 

“I DO NOT KNOW.” Papyrus shook his head. “MY NECKLACE WAS GLOWING AND THE BARRIER WAS ALREADY THERE.”

 

“you mean what your friend gave you?” Sans asked, eyes furrowed. “i don’t think that’s an ordinary lucky charm, paps.”

 

Papyrus teared up. “OH NO, WHAT AM I GOING TO TELL [Y/N]?! I BROKE THEIR GIFT!”

 

“i really don’t think that’s the worst of our problems.” Stretch chuckled. “whoever your friend is or what that thing is, it managed to stop a beast that came from nothing.”

 

“Yea,” Ink touched the pieces of the shell, “I don’t sense any lingering traces of magic. I have no clue about what this could be.”

 

“Still doesn’t change that we need to find this [Y/N] person.” Error growled. “If she can make more of those things, we can stop this damned virus from destroying the multiverse.”

 

“g’luck with that.” Sans shrugged. “tried meeting with them but Papyrus was the only one who could actually meet with them.”

 

“What the hell do you mean by that?”

 

“[Y/N]?”

 

All eyes went to the skeleton who had his phone next to his skull, chatting amiably with his friend. “I’M SORRY BUT I BROKE YOUR LUCKY CHARM! IT- IT PROTECTED ME AND MY FRIEND BUT. IS THAT ALRIGHT? WOWIE, THAT’S… IS THAT OKAY? OK, SEE YOU, [Y/N]!”

 

“Wait, was that your friend?” Ink asked, pointing at the cellphone.

 

“YES, I WAS LUCKY THEY WERE AVAILABLE.” Frisk tugged on his scarf and shyly asked.

 

“Can we meet with them?”

 

“ACTUALLY, [Y/N] WANTED TO MAKE YOU A LUCKY CHARM, TOO!” He sagged. “BUT THEY STILL DON’T WANNA MEET WITH ANYONE.”

 

“Doesn’t matter.” Error stepped up. “They’ll meet with us whether they like to or not.”

 

“Error!” Ink chided.

 

“I WOULD LIKE IT IF YOU WILL NOT MAKE THEM UNCOMFORTABLE BUT I WILL ASK THEM.”

 

“don’t be so rash, error. If this human is who they are, they might be able to stop you.” Sans said.

 

“That’s right!” Blue stepped up. “We have to be nice to Papyrus’ friend, too!”

 

“Ugh, fine.”


	4. Papyrus remembers?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus confessing that he sees other timelines

“Papyrus, in this world, you can call me a nobody. My influence in the world only runs so far so…” I looked down at the ground. “You can tell me anything and no one will know.”

 

Silence. Papyrus continuous chatter hushed. Honestly, I didn’t expect him to accept that so easily.

 

“I have a nightmare.” He said. I remained quiet. “In this nightmare, I always get killed and Sans, my brother… is powerless to stop it.”

 

He clasped his hands on his knees. “That isn’t the worst part of the nightmare. The worst is seeing Sans lose hope as the same day repeats again and again. In this nightmare, I don’t tell him that I also know the repetitions.

 

“When I let slip that one time that I remembered even a bit…” Papyrus hunched his back, resting his head on his gloves and his arms on his knees instead. “I could see the despair in his face. I don’t know how I played it off afterwards.

 

“The nightmare is over. Most of it but sometimes, I still wonder when that same day will happen again.” I watched him as he started crying, covered his face as orange tears streaked down. “I can’t tell anyone. I only told you about this, [Y/N] and-”

 

I enveloped my arms around his body. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re so strong to have held this far for your brother and for yourself.”

 

“I tried my best. I tried my best so that my brother won’t feel that despair again. I’m so tired…”

 

“I know. I know.” I stroked his back, letting him cry for a while. Didn’t say anything when his sobs ended with him hugging me as tightly as he can, as if I’ll disappear.

 

“I am…” He coughed. “I AM VERY SORRY ABOUT THIS, [Y/N]. I TOOK UP MUCH OF YOUR TIME.”

 

“You’re my only friend. It doesn’t matter how much time you take with me, I enjoy every bit of time we have.”

 

He gasped. “[Y/N], THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME!”

 

I chuckled. “How about I take you out next time? To my favorite place.”

 

“THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL! BUT I HAVE TO GO HOME NOW…”

 

I waved his worry off. “It’s okay. See you next time!”


	5. Telling Paps about Underswap Papyrus and Storyshift Chara

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wouldn't it be a nice thing to have complete control over timelines?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by imoni party's Bad Time Trio and Nick Nitro's remix Triple The Threat

“Imagine if your brother had to fight.” I said, looking up at the sky before turning my head to grin at Papyrus. “And there are two others with him.”

 

I pushed myself off the bench and picked up a nearby stick, drawing at the ground an image of his brother. “This is your brother and this…”

 

I drew the other two, Underswap Papyrus and Storyshift Chara. “Are his allies.”

 

“HE LOOKS LIKE ME! AND THAT PERSON LOOKS LIKE THE HUMAN!”

 

“He’s you but not you and that person’s a human but not the human.” I told him. “Imagine a world where you’re like Sans and Sans is like you and another where the prince and his bestfriend were you two.”

 

“I DON’T GET IT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE PRINCE AND HIS BEST FRIEND?” I turned to him, waving the stick around as I explained.

 

“The first fallen human is named Chara and they befriended the prince of monsters, Toriel and Asgore’s son, Asrel. Imagine that Chara is like Sans and Asriel, with all his benevolence, taking your place in Snowdin. The two that moved in and unlike the other monsters because Chara was a human and Asriel was almost too nice as a monster.”

 

I turned back at the ground, drawing bones and knives around them before throwing the stick away and putting my headphones on him, instead.

 

“Now, imagine them fighting with that song.” He bobbed his head to the beat as he listened and I waited patiently.

 

I played around my own daydreams as I waited, mixing my nice little fight against the last fallen human.

 

“IF I AM TO BE HONEST, [Y/N]. I DON’T SEE MY BROTHER FIGHTING, ME FIGHTING AND NOT-FRISK FIGHTING!” He handed me the headphones back.

 

“I should have given you more context.” I gave a short laugh. “I was too excited to let you listen to it.”

 

“Let me paint you a picture then?” He nodded and I grinned.

 

“Let’s name other you, Stretch.”

 

“STRETCH?”

 

“Like...a stretched Sans.”

 

“[Y/N], IT IS RUDE TO CALL OTHER ME THAT!”

 

“Eh, it’s fine. It’s just for a story anyway and totally not frisk and not our chara as...Shift? Anyway, if Sans uses blue magic, Stretch uses orange magic and Shift… doesn’t use magic much since they are a human but they can access a bit.”

 

“They fight,” My voice took a deeper tone, “because they’re the final defense. They fight, because the final human killed their loved one. They fight, because that’s the only thing they can do. Only _attempt_ to make the final human change their ways.”

 

“This repeats for what seems like an endless time. They start to lose hope but still, they continue fighting the human even when no one else remembers their actions. And, one day, it all changes, they meet in a single corridor facing only one figure. A human that takes the form of their own fallen human.”

 

I clenched my fists, letting my imagined emotions course through. Despair, surprise and resignation from their experiences. “There’s no end fighting the human but the difference was that they’re not alone. They have each other.”

 

I finished my explanation, waiting for his reaction.

 

“DID THEY MOURN?”

 

The grave tone in his voice made my head turn. He wasn’t crying as I thought that he would be.

 

“[Y/N].” I tensed.

 

“Uh, I don’t think so?” I wracked my head, trying to remember the small details. “The other worlds are based on Sans’ own actions and I don’t think he mourned for your- _his_ loved one’s death, instead watching over the human reluctantly because of a promise.”

 

“THAT IS A SAD ENDING, [Y/N].”

 

“Heh…” I gave a cynical laugh. “Life doesn’t always hand out happy endings, Papyrus.”

 

“...CAN I LISTEN TO THE MUSIC AGAIN?”

 

“Here.” He closed his eyes and didn’t bob his head anymore. I don’t doubt that he noticed my slip earlier. Ah well. I let him listen as much as he wanted and I opted to listen through another set of earbuds to maintain my own sympathy at this time.

 

“IS THERE ANY WAY FOR US TO HELP THEM?”

 

Us.

 

“No.” I looked at the setting skies as I put away the earbuds. “Besides, if you think about it, this has already happened in a world different from ours. Somewhere that we can’t touch.”

 

“THERE MUST BE SOME WAY WE CAN HELP!”

 

“For a world where that already happened, you can’t but for somewhere it hasn’t… Just be yourself. You already helped the world so much with you by being yourself.”

 

“YOU HAVE GIVEN ME A LOT TO THINK ABOUT, FRIEND.”

 

I shrugged. “It wasn’t supposed to be this sad. I just wanted to know what your reaction was.”

 

“WELL THEN, I SUPPOSE THAT I FEEL… SAD KNOWING THEY ARE SUFFERING LIKE THIS SO I WILL DOUBLE MY EFFORTS WITH MAKING EVERYONE GIVE UP ON GIVING UP! THAT I’LL BE HERE FOR THEM!”

 

“You go do that, Papyrus and while you do so, go home since,” I point to the orange sky. “It’s almost night.”

 

“YOU’RE RIGHT! SEE YOU SOON, [Y/N]!”

 

I waved goodbye. “See ya, Papyrus.”

 

Once he was out of sight, I thought about what he said earlier. “A world where it already happened…

 

“If only it was that easy.”

* * *

“Green!”

 

“Gah!” They grunted, clutching the slash wound across their chest. “I’ll be fine. Humans are tough.”

 

“Can’t maintain this any longer, blue.” Orange huffed as he sent another set of bones towards the fallen human.

 

“Take care of Green.” Blue said, taking Orange’s place as he waited for the human’s attack. It clutched the knife close to their chest when suddenly they were trapped in a series of strings, their heart purple.

 

“What?”

 

I let myself form in the corridor, ignoring the humans’ shouts of rage. “Are you three alright?”

 

“uh... yea.”

 

“I’ll return you to your universes. The final reset for each. Think of it as a gift across universes.” I said, flicking a finger to reverse the damage done to each one of them.

 

“Why-”

 

“A whim.” I cut Chara off. “Now go.”

 

I waved my hand dismissively, the three vanishing from this hell and turning my attention towards it.

 

“And you…” I enclosed their heart with strings and threw it in the void. “You won’t harm anyone there and someone, no _three_ someones are looking forward to meet you.”

 

Without the characters in existence, the world started to crumble. I closed my eyes. Fine. It didn’t need to exist anyway.

* * *

“STRETCH?” Papyrus stunned voice caught the attention of everyone.

 

“paps, you know him?” Sans jerked his head to him.

 

“MY FRIEND DREW SOMEONE THAT LOOKED MUCH LIKE HIM AND ALSO NOT-FRISK!”

 

“A friend, huh. That’s one hell of a friend to know us.” And Shift stepped out of the machine.

 

“OH, YOU LOOK LIKE SHIFT!”

 

“Oh, are you Papyrus?” Shift perked up. “Blue told me about you.”

 

“BLUE?”

 

“had to make nicknames.” Sans shrugged. “went with the color of our hoodies.”

 

“SANS, YOU LAZYBONES.”

 

“it worked.”

 

“Wait, what friend?” Stretch looked at Papyrus. “As far as we know, we haven’t met anyone in this dimension yet.”

 

“[Y/N] IS VERY MYSTERIOUS AND CREATIVE BUT SHE DOESN’T WANT TO MEET ANYONE SO I AM SORRY, MY OTHER SELF.”

 

He huffed. “Mysterious huh.”

 

“If this friend is his friend from the past, it won’t be easy bud, I tried and failed.”

 

“Who cares?” Shift yawned. “Let’s have that Grillby’s already.”


	6. Telling Paps about Underswap Papyrus and Storyshift Chara

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wouldn't it be a nice thing to have complete control over timelines?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by [imoni party's Bad Time Trio](https://nishimori38.tumblr.com/post/167124534695/bad-time-triopart-1-i-translated-my-comics-but) and [Nick Nitro's remix Triple The Threat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYTLhXTPM4s)

“Imagine if your brother had to fight.” I said, looking up at the sky before turning my head to grin at Papyrus. “And there are two others with him.”

 

I pushed myself off the bench and picked up a nearby stick, drawing at the ground an image of his brother. “This is your brother and this…”

 

I drew the other two, Underswap Papyrus and Storyshift Chara. “Are his allies.”

 

“HE LOOKS LIKE ME! AND THAT PERSON LOOKS LIKE THE HUMAN!”

 

“He’s you but not you and that person’s a human but not the human.” I told him. “Imagine a world where you’re like Sans and Sans is like you and another where the prince and his bestfriend were you two.”

 

“I DON’T GET IT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE PRINCE AND HIS BEST FRIEND?” I turned to him, waving the stick around as I explained.

 

“The first fallen human is named Chara and they befriended the prince of monsters, Toriel and Asgore’s son, Asrel. Imagine that Chara is like Sans and Asriel, with all his benevolence, taking your place in Snowdin. The two that moved in and unlike the other monsters because Chara was a human and Asriel was almost too nice as a monster.”

 

I turned back at the ground, drawing bones and knives around them before throwing the stick away and putting my headphones on him, instead.

 

“Now, imagine them fighting with that song.” He bobbed his head to the beat as he listened and I waited patiently.

 

I played around my own daydreams as I waited, mixing my nice little fight against the last fallen human.

 

“IF I AM TO BE HONEST, [Y/N]. I DON’T SEE MY BROTHER FIGHTING, ME FIGHTING AND NOT-FRISK FIGHTING!” He handed me the headphones back.

 

“I should have given you more context.” I gave a short laugh. “I was too excited to let you listen to it.”

 

“Let me paint you a picture then?” He nodded and I grinned.

 

“Let’s name other you, Stretch.”

 

“STRETCH?”

 

“Like...a stretched Sans.”

 

“[Y/N], IT IS RUDE TO CALL OTHER ME THAT!”

 

“Eh, it’s fine. It’s just for a story anyway and totally not frisk and not our chara as...Shift? Anyway, if Sans uses blue magic, Stretch uses orange magic and Shift… doesn’t use magic much since they are a human but they can access a bit.”

 

“They fight,” My voice took a deeper tone, “because they’re the final defense. They fight, because the final human killed their loved one. They fight, because that’s the only thing they can do. Only _attempt_ to make the final human change their ways.”

 

“This repeats for what seems like an endless time. They start to lose hope but still, they continue fighting the human even when no one else remembers their actions. And, one day, it all changes, they meet in a single corridor facing only one figure. A human that takes the form of their own fallen human.”

 

I clenched my fists, letting my imagined emotions course through. Despair, surprise and resignation from their experiences. “There’s no end fighting the human but the difference was that they’re not alone. They have each other.”

 

I finished my explanation, waiting for his reaction.

 

“DID THEY MOURN?”

 

The grave tone in his voice made my head turn. He wasn’t crying as I thought that he would be.

 

“[Y/N].” I tensed.

 

“Uh, I don’t think so?” I wracked my head, trying to remember the small details. “The other worlds are based on Sans’ own actions and I don’t think he mourned for your- _his_ loved one’s death, instead watching over the human reluctantly because of a promise.”

 

“THAT IS A SAD ENDING, [Y/N].”

 

“Heh…” I gave a cynical laugh. “Life doesn’t always hand out happy endings, Papyrus.”

 

“...CAN I LISTEN TO THE MUSIC AGAIN?”

 

“Here.” He closed his eyes and didn’t bob his head anymore. I don’t doubt that he noticed my slip earlier. Ah well. I let him listen as much as he wanted and I opted to listen through another set of earbuds to maintain my own sympathy at this time.

 

“IS THERE ANY WAY FOR US TO HELP THEM?”

 

Us.

 

“No.” I looked at the setting skies as I put away the earbuds. “Besides, if you think about it, this has already happened in a world different from ours. Somewhere that we can’t touch.”

 

“THERE MUST BE SOME WAY WE CAN HELP!”

 

“For a world where that already happened, you can’t but for somewhere it hasn’t… Just be yourself. You already helped the world so much with you by being yourself.”

 

“YOU HAVE GIVEN ME A LOT TO THINK ABOUT, FRIEND.”

 

I shrugged. “It wasn’t supposed to be this sad. I just wanted to know what your reaction was.”

 

“WELL THEN, I SUPPOSE THAT I FEEL… SAD KNOWING THEY ARE SUFFERING LIKE THIS SO I WILL DOUBLE MY EFFORTS WITH MAKING EVERYONE GIVE UP ON GIVING UP! THAT I’LL BE HERE FOR THEM!”

 

“You go do that, Papyrus and while you do so, go home since,” I point to the orange sky. “It’s almost night.”

 

“YOU’RE RIGHT! SEE YOU SOON, [Y/N]!”

 

I waved goodbye. “See ya, Papyrus.”

 

Once he was out of sight, I thought about what he said earlier. “A world where it already happened…

 

“If only it was that easy.”

* * *

 

“Green!”

 

“Gah!” They grunted, clutching the slash wound across their chest. “I’ll be fine. Humans are tough.”

 

“Can’t maintain this any longer, blue.” Orange huffed as he sent another set of bones towards the fallen human.

 

“Take care of Green.” Blue said, taking Orange’s place as he waited for the human’s attack. It clutched the knife close to their chest when suddenly they were trapped in a series of strings, their heart purple.

 

“What?”

 

I let myself form in the corridor, ignoring the humans’ shouts of rage. “Are you three alright?”

 

“uh... yea.”

 

“I’ll return you to your universes. The final reset for each. Think of it as a gift across universes.” I said, flicking a finger to reverse the damage done to each one of them.

 

“Why-”

 

“A whim.” I cut Chara off. “Now go.”

 

I waved my hand dismissively, the three vanishing from this hell and turning my attention towards it.

 

“And you…” I enclosed their heart with strings and threw it in the void. “You won’t harm anyone there and someone, no _three_ someones are looking forward to meet you.”

 

Without the characters in existence, the world started to crumble. I closed my eyes. Fine. It didn’t need to exist anyway.

* * *

 

“STRETCH?” Papyrus stunned voice caught the attention of everyone.

 

“paps, you know him?” Sans jerked his head to him.

 

“MY FRIEND DREW SOMEONE THAT LOOKED MUCH LIKE HIM AND ALSO NOT-FRISK!”

 

“A friend, huh. That’s one hell of a friend to know us.” And Shift stepped out of the machine.

 

“OH, YOU LOOK LIKE SHIFT!”

 

“Oh, are you Papyrus?” Shift perked up. “Blue told me about you.”

 

“BLUE?”

 

“had to make nicknames.” Sans shrugged. “went with the color of our hoodies.”

 

“SANS, YOU LAZYBONES.”

 

“it worked.”

 

“Wait, what friend?” Stretch looked at Papyrus. “As far as we know, we haven’t met anyone in this dimension yet.”

 

“[Y/N] IS VERY MYSTERIOUS AND CREATIVE BUT SHE DOESN’T WANT TO MEET ANYONE SO I AM SORRY, MY OTHER SELF.”

 

He huffed. “Mysterious huh.”

 

“If this friend is his friend from the past, it won’t be easy bud, I tried and failed.”

 

“Who cares?” Shift yawned. “Let’s have that Grillby’s already.”


End file.
